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Sunday, March 17, 2013

Kimberly Kincaid: The Luck of the Irish: Celebrating Holidays With Food

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Once we get past thoughts
of leprechauns and four-leaf clovers, the first thing that pops to mind for
many of us on St. Patrick’s Day is the food. Traditional Irish fare like corned
beef and cabbage, Irish soda bread, and bangers and mash abound on this
holiday, and many of the recipes have been handed down and perfected over
generations. Whether or not you’re Irish (and isn’t everyone today?), chances
are you may indulge in a dish or two or three to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day
(and yes…Irish coffee counts)

But the Irish aren’t the only folks who celebrate
holidays (and life) with food. Nearly every culture has traditional fare, and
the best part is, because we’re a melting pot, much of it has become
mainstream. Check out the main thoroughfare in any town as proof—more likely
than not, you’ll find sushi restaurants cuddled up with Italian brick oven
pizzerias, cozy French bakeries right next to places specializing in Thai food.
So what is it about food that makes us pass it on from generation to
generation, keeping culinary traditions in place?

For one thing, food nourishes us, both literally and
figuratively. We share it together as families. We offer it in times of joy, as
well as times of grief. Food has the power to sustain us. And while cultures
may differ on what they serve and how they serve it, this remains universal. Picture
Sunday dinner in your head (from any time in your life). What do you see?
Likely, there are family traditions there that revolve around food. Perhaps
there’s a pot roast in the oven, or maybe a lasagna on the table. Take a moment
to remember the smells, the sounds, the tastes. Makes for a pretty evocative
picture, right?

Because food has this sustaining power, we often use
it to celebrate holidays, like St. Patrick’s Day. Pick a holiday and do a free
association. Chances are, a food item is among the first things you think of,
regardless of your cultural background. And the beauty is that while some
things are quite universal (Thanksgiving turkey, for example), nothing is set
in stone. Traditional Italian Thanksgiving meals have nary a turkey in sight
(and trust me, while I like turkey as much as anyone else, you don’t miss it at
a meal like that!)

So take a moment to think about your favorite
holiday(s). What dishes do you share with those around you? Are they
traditional? Passed down through your culture or family? Or do you like to try
new dishes each year? Share your food customs, your recipes, your ideas! I’ll
be right over here with my bangers and mash, sipping a pint of Guinness J
After all, everyone’s Irish today!

Love On The Line -Violet Morgan puts the personal in personal chef, catering to clients who want the full
cooking experience rather than a culinary drop-and-dash. But when her brother’s
police detective partner is injured in the line of duty and needs help during
recovery, she makes an exception. Violet lost her father to the job seven years
ago, and worries for her brother’s safety every day. The last thing she wants
is to get up-close with her brother’s career-cop partner…again.

For Noah Blackwell, being a detective isn’t just a
lifestyle, it’s a legacy. So when he’s forced to take mandatory leave and deal with the trauma amnesia keeping
him from identifying his shooter, it’s a literal case of adding insult to
injury— and now he’s got to deal with an unwanted culinary caregiver on top of
it. Never mind that he and Violet shared a steamy, secret kiss last New Year’s
Eve. She rejects everything related to the job, and Noah’s not about to be
distracted from recovering his memory and getting back to what he does best. No
matter how pretty Violet is.

Despite their differences, Violet and Noah share a
surprising bond in the kitchen that grows into something neither of them expect.
But as Noah heals and their feelings for each other extend from the kitchen to
the bedroom, Violet knows she must make an impossible choice. She may wear her
heart on her sleeve when it comes to food, but can she risk it all to put love
on the line?

Kimberly Kincaid writes contemporary romance that
splits the difference between sexy and sweet. When she's not sitting
cross-legged in an ancient desk chair known as "The Pleather Bomber",
she can be found practicing obscene amounts of yoga, whipping up anything from
enchiladas to éclairs in her kitchen, or curled up with her nose in a book. Kimberly
is a 2011 RWA Golden Heart® finalist who lives (and writes!) by the mantra that
food is love. She is thrilled to have collaborated on a Christmas anthology with
Donna Kauffman and Kate Angell, titled The Sugar Cookie Sweetheart Swap, to
kick off her Pine Mountain foodie series with Kensington this October. Her
first full-length novel, Turn Up the Heat, will follow in February 2014.
Kimberly resides in northern Virginia with her wildly patient husband and their
three daughters. Visit her any time at www.kimberlykincaid.com
or come check her out on Facebook and Twitter.

7 comments:

I am not a good cook, but there are a few dishes I can do, and one of them is nice Ham.. and I have a recipe for one done in the slow cooker that I am going to try at Easter...We always bake our ham in the oven, but this one sounds lovely...

We really don't do much for St. Patrick's day, but for Thanksgiving and Christmas I cook a big meal. Turkey and all the fixings on Thanksgiving and Ham and all the fixings on Christmas. Those are really the only two holidays I celebrate other than Halloween and that's an all month long celebration..with decorations, candy and horror movies.

I am so hungry reading all of these posts! I love how each of us has something a little unique, but then there are those staples that hold us all together too. We tend to BBQ a lot as a family as well, which makes me doubly grateful that spring is (allegedly) around the corner.